Who Has Most 'Player Of The Series' Awards For India In Tests? You'll Probably Be Surprised At The Right Answer

It is R Ashwin!

Dear Reader,

You know who has the most 'Player of the Series' awards in Tests for India?

I'll understand if your answer is Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Kumble, or Dravid. Their performances, their career stats, and the nostalgia associated with them would justify your guess. But the guess would still be wrong.

The answer is Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin has 10 'Player of the Series' awards till date. The second best are Sehwag and Tendulkar with five. Here's more. Ashwin's 10 awards came in 37 series, Sehwag's five in 39, and Tendulkar's five in 74.

But think about the last time you read Ashwin's name in the headlines of the sports page of your newspaper. It was probably because he had been dropped for a Test or because fans weren't sure if he would even be selected for an upcoming game or not.

Ashwin himself captured this puzzling aspect of his career in a pithy remark: "Either I take fifers or I get dropped".

Today, when he scalped his 500th wicket in Test cricket, is a good day to sit back and read this piece by Balakumar which looks back at the career of an off-spinner's off-spinner.

https://swarajyamag.com/commentary/either-i-take-fifers-or-i-get-dropped-a-look-at-ravichandran-ashwins-career-as-he-scales-mt-500

The YouTube search for 'Ashwin best wickets' can follow.

Until next time,

Arush Tandon